Watching
Antoine Roussel the past few games, it’s hard to believe he logged games
in the ECHL in 2011 or that he has been a member of three different AHL
teams over the past three seasons.

Roussel is playing on the second line with Derek Roy for the Stars,
and he has three goals and four assists (seven points) in the past seven
games. He had a big fight and a big assist on Sunday that helped turn
around a game in which the Stars were struggling to compete.

“Roussel has done everything he can for this team,’’ Stars coach Glen
Gulutzan said. “He set up that goal, I thought it was a great play, and
then he fights. The reason he’s having success is because he does
everything right. He works extremely hard and he’s fearless. It helped
our bench to know that we have guys committed to do whatever it takes to
win.”

Roussel is an agitator, and he has a history of taking a ton of
penalties. He has 25 so far for the Stars in 13 games, but he’s picking
his spots well. What’s more, he’s adding plenty of speed and skill to
the physicality. While it was big for him to fight St. Louis winger
Chris Stewart right after the Blues’ first goal, it was even more
important that he helped force a turnover later in the first period,
then made a brilliant pass to Erik Cole that led to the tying goal.

“I think Roussel’s fight definitely gave us a lift,’’ Roy said. “They
were chipping everything in, and they’ve got big bodies and were
getting in on our defensemen and working us down low. And we tried to do
the same on the other end, but they were doing a good job defending.
Roussel gave us a good fight, and it gave us a boost. Then we got that
goal by Cole and we took off after that.”

Roussel tallied just eight points (1G, 7A) in 42 games with
Providence of the AHL in 2010-11. He had nine points (4G, 5A) in 61
games last season with Chicago of the AHL. He had a bigger bite with the
Texas Stars, scoring 19 points (8G, 11A) in 43 games, before being
called up to the NHL this season.

So there’s no telling where the season takes the 23-year-old forward.

But, so far, the Stars like what they see and expect to give Roussel plenty of chances to do more.

STARS Q&A

Q: Have the Stars started to negotiate with their upcoming UFA’s yet? Who do you think will be back next year from that group?

Mike Heika: They have, and that might have been one reason Ryder was dealt. I was told that the Stars were informed Ryder wanted to test free agency, and that the Stars did not want to wait until the summer and then possibly lose him for nothing. The guess is Jagr will wait (he usually does) and the Stars will wait with him, that Morrow will not get an offer, and that Roy will get an offer and then the Stars will react. If Roy turns it down, he also could be traded. But that's all speculation at this point.

* * *

Q: I know some were not happy that Nilstorp was sent down to Cedar Park, but shouldn't that help the Stars long term so he can keep playing down there while Bachman sits as Lehtonen's non-playing backup in Dallas?

Mike Heika: The March schedule is goalie friendly for the Stars (one back-to-back and four breaks of two days or more), so the guess is Lehtonen plays a lot of these games. If the team needs help, the guess is Nilstorp will probably be fresher and more ready and might get a call-up. That said, they could also switch the two in a couple off weeks and let Bachman stretch his legs a little while Nilstorp rides the pine in the NHL. There are a lot of options for the Stars with the three goalies.

* * *

Q: I'm wondering if the Cole trade pretty well signals the end of Brenden Morrow in Dallas. Boston and Pitt are looking for wingers and you have to figure he'd waive to go there.

Mike Heika: Those are the popular candidates on the interweb, and they make sense. We'll just have to wait and see. A lot of moving parts on this one, but the Montreal example with Cole is a good one on how to handle it. You be honest with the player, tell him what options might come up in the next couple of weeks and then make a decision that is best for everyone. Joe Nieuwendyk and Brenden Morrow have a great relationship, so I expect they will handle this the right way.

* * *

Q: What do you think Roussel can be?

Mike Heika: Well, that type of player lives on a very thin line. If he falls on the right side of aggression, he fires up the team and frustrates the opponent. If he falls on the wrong side, he fires up the opponent and frustrates the team. We'll see. Right now, I think he has done pretty much everything right in his limited time in the NHL, and that is a pretty big leap for where he was a year or two ago.

* * *

Q: If Derek Roy is traded, then does GM Joe have more egg on his face for Ott trade?

Mike Heika: I don't think so. It depends on what he gets. Ott and Ribeiro were not going to be re-signed, so it's a question of what you get when you trade them. Cody Eakin is obviously a great return for Ribeiro. If they decide to trade Roy, a young, growing player like that (preferably a defenseman) would make the Ott-Roy deal seem just fine.